Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.

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S. Korean president to meet leaders of Britain, Germany, Thailand this week

PARIS -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Belgium this week, the presidential office said Tuesday.

Moon is currently on a nine-day tour of France, Italy, the Vatican, Belgium and Denmark until Sunday. He will attend the ASEM summit Friday.

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(LEAD) Parties agree on formation of ad hoc parliamentary panels

SEOUL -- The ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday reached an agreement on how to form six ad hoc parliamentary committees.

Rival parties had been at loggerheads over the number of seats that should be allotted to each party on two key special committees on political and judicial reforms.

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No change in S. Korea's defense commitment to NLL: military

SEOUL -- South Korea's military said Tuesday it remains firmly committed to the defense of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea border with North Korea.

The two Koreas have long disputed the demarcation of their Yellow Sea border, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce.

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Koreas to discuss Internet connection at liaison office in Kaesong

SEOUL -- South Korea has proposed to North Korea installing Internet networks for its staff stationed at their joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong, a Seoul official said Tuesday.

Dozens of officials from both sides are staying in the office, which opened on Sept. 14. The North has never allowed South Koreans stationed in its territory to use the Internet, except for temporary access for short-term visitors.

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S. Korea abiding by U.N. sanctions over economic ties with N. Korea: ministry

SEOUL -- The South Korean government reaffirmed its resolve Tuesday to comply with U.N. sanctions while pushing for economic cooperation with North Korea, particularly joint road and rail projects.

In their high-level talks on Monday, the two Koreas agreed to hold a groundbreaking ceremony sometime between late November and early December to connect their railways and roads.

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KEPCO chief stresses need for fixing industrial electricity prices

SEOUL -- The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) suggested the government raise nighttime industrial electricity prices to improve energy consumption patterns of local companies, its chief executive said Tuesday.

KEPCO CEO Kim Jong-gap said the power company has reviewed ways to adjust the cheap industrial rate between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m., and delivered the recommendations to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which is in charge of the nation's energy policy.

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Number of admissions spiked 32.2 pct in Korean cinemas last month

SEOUL -- South Korean cinemas sold 32.2 percent more tickets in September than a year ago thanks to the long Chuseok holiday week, data showed Tuesday.

According to a monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the number of admissions in local theaters was up about 4 million to 16.81 million last month, with sales jumping 41.8 percent to 144 billion won (US$127 million).
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